A friend with a newborn once asked me "what is the nicest age?"

I replied it was when they go to school. I didn't mean it in a flippant way. There is a turning point between the age of 4 and 5 where things become easier. You realise that in a blink of an eye your baby is growing up. Faster than you would like. They are becoming their own little person. Someone that you can talk to rather than at. Yes babies are cute, but you can't have a conversation with them. For me, the nicest age is just before they start school where they are inquisitive and innocent.

Little man is four and a half. He starts school this September. Gone are the tantrums of the terrible twos and the threenager behavior has ebbed recently. He is taking in the world with every step (or skip) he makes and his positivity puts me to shame. I know I can be a bit of an Eeyore. My glass is usually half empty and it really is something I want to change. Little man's glass is over flowing and the excitement that brings is contagious.

There I am on the school run, complaining it is raining. Again.

"But Mummy it is good. It will help all the flowers grow." All I can do is smile and agree as he skips along.

He sees a feather on the floor and picks it up. Before I have chance to tell him to drop it as it's dirty, he starts telling me how he could use it as a quill to write a poem. My heart just wants to explode. My head wants to see if he is any good at poetry.

He soaked himself watering the flowers and I asked him if he wanted to get changed as he was so wet. No because it will dry was his reply.

Whilst it is easy to mourn that my baby is getting bigger, in true little man style I will embrace positivity and look forward to watching him grow and become more independent. There will be lots of smiles on the way. He brightens up my day. Especially when my husband texts to say he asked little man what he would like to do.

His answer?

Eat, sleep, rave, repeat.

What is your favourite age? Do you mourn the past or embrace the future?